Chapter 13.1 Vocabulary/Two Column Notes Growth of the Cotton Industry

Reviving the South’s Economy ●After Revolutionary War the price of tobacco, rice, and indigo fell causing the demand for slaves to fall Cotton Becomes Profitable ●Long-staple cotton (black-seed) processed easily but grew in few areas ●Short-staple cotton (green-seed) grew well but difficult to remove seeds ●1790’s the demand for American cotton increased rapidly but growing and processing it was very difficult

Reviving the South’s Economy Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin Cotton gin: a machine that removes seeds from short-staple cotton/Eli Whitney perfected the cotton gin in 1793 ●The South grew most of the country’s cotton ●The cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry Planters: large scale farmers who held more than 20 slaves

The Cotton Boom Cotton Belt Cotton Belt: area of high cotton production spreading through the south as far west as Texas ●Advantages of cotton: cost little to market/could be stored for a long time/it was light so it cost less to transport ●Cotton used up a lot of the grounds nutrients so scientists recommended crop rotation

The Cotton Boom Cotton Belt (Continued) ●Factories were built to make rope so farmers could bale cotton ●Cotton required many hands which led to an increase in U.S. internal slave trade Cotton Trade Factors: crop brokers who managed the cotton trade in major port cities ●James Henry Hamond - “Cotton is King!”/felt economy would fail without it

Other Crops and Industries Food and Cash Crops ●Corn was the main food crop in the South ●Other food crops grown in the South were rice, sweet potatoes, wheat, and sugarcane ●Tobacco was still in production but the process was slow as the leaves had to be cured and dried ●Hemp and flax also became cash crops (fibers used to make rope and sackcloth

Other Crops and Industries (Continued) Industry ●Most first southern factories were built to serve the farmers’ needs: making rope and processing sugarcane ●Southern cotton mills started to be built in the mid-1800’s ●1848 Joseph R. Anderson becomes owner of Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia Tredegar Iron Works: one of the most productive iron works in the nation